BHUBANESWAR: In view of the massive electrical restoration work and the stupendous job, the State Government has decided to pay wages to the restoration team members at 150 per cent of the rate fixed by the Labour and ESI departments. A proposal in this regard was approved at the meeting of the State Cabinet presided by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday.
The revised wages, limited to the present electrical work, will be Rs 420 for unskilled labour, Rs 480 for semi skilled labour and Rs 555 for skilled labour. Besides, it has been decided to provide fooding charge of Rs 150 to the labourers for the electrical restoration works relating to extremely severe cyclonic storm Fani. The Cabinet approved a proposal to release Rs 24 lakh from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF)/National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) for providing ration allowance to 1,200 fire service personnel who have been engaged in rescue, relief and road clearance operation since May 2, 2019.
The allowance will be paid for a period of 10 days at the rate of Rs 200 per person per day. Similarly, Rs 1 lakh has been released for ration allowance to 50 civil defence volunteers engaged in rescue and relief operations in the Capital City of Bhubaneswar at the rate of Rs 200 per person per day.
The water of community tanks and ponds in Puri district has been contaminated due to falling tree branches, leaves and debris which is required to be purified/ cleaned and treated with lime and zeolite to bring it back to hygienic condition. The departments of water resources and fisheries have been entrusted with the task. The Cabinet approved the proposal for release of Rs 15 lakh from the SDRF/NDRF for the purpose.
Cabinet okays steps to speed up relief work
After the cyclone subsided, restoration work was undertaken by mobilising gangs from different discoms, electrical contractors, CPSUs like NTPC, PGCIL, Nalco, Tata Power, L&T and states like West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka. Materials for these works were diverted from ongoing schemes in the State and also purchased from SAIL. The Cabinet decided that the rates of hire charges of different vehicles prescribed by different departments like Home, Works and Finance will be adopted for immediate restoration work of electrical infrastructure.
However, if hire charges of certain vehicles have not been prescribed and there is no standard rate, the Cabinet decided that a committee will be constituted to fix the rate of hire charges for such vehicles. Besides, the Cabinet approved a proposal to make changes in the provisions of OPWD Code to facilitate speedy execution of restoration works relating to the cyclonic storm.
In view of the large requirement of polythene, in addition to the existing stock at state and district levels, the Government has decided for emergency procurement of 7,533 tonne of black polythene sheets for providing to the affected people. As per preliminary estimates, about five lakh houses have been fully damaged in the cyclone. As per the reports received from the collectors, more than 1.65 crore people in 159 blocks and 51 urban local bodies (ULBs) of 14 districts have been affected.
The toll so far has been 64. While detailed assessment of loss to public and private properties is still to be completed, as per preliminary assessment, the loss to public properties has been estimated at Rs 6,167.26 crore and requirement of funds for expenditure on relief and response account will be Rs 6,767.56 crore.
Dissolution of Assembly approved
Bhubaneswar: The State Cabinet on Saturday recommended dissolution of the 15th Odisha Assembly. According to the Constitutional provision, the State Cabinet will pass a resolution to dissolve the Assembly. Resignation of the Chief Minister and Ministers will be handed over to the Governor to make way for the constitution of the new Assembly after the declaration of the election results. “The Assembly will stand dissolved only after the approval of the Governor and notification issued thereafter,” the Chief Secretary told media persons after the meeting.